Rodriguez is crowned the second TUF: Latin America champ of the night after a competitive three round battle with Morales. Rodriguez won the opening two rounds, showing all facets of his game, throwing caution to the wind at times with his striking, while being at his most effective with takedowns and submission attempts. Morales was able to keep the fight standing for the most part in the third round though and slightly edged the action, with a nice flurry of punches before the bell sealing the round, but not the fight in his favor.

Perez became the UFC’s first ever TUF: Latin America champion with a unanimous decision victory. He comfortably took the first round, feeding Quinonez a steady diet of kicks and accurate punches. In the second Perez was still threatening, but Quinonez was now making it more competitive and had his moments. Then in third they really started to let their hands go before Perez spun around to his opponent’s back and suplexed him. However, Quinonez was able to get on top soon after at a crucial moment in the fight. However, he then blew his chance to win the round when he appeared to intentionally headbutt his opponent while on topleaving Perez with a bloodied nose. Referree John McCarthy saw it and was certain it was intentional, resulting in Quinonez being deducted no less than two points. That rarely ever happens! Quinonez needed a finish now, but he didn’t get it in the time remaining.

Wow, this fight turned up one of the most grizzly injuries we’ve seen in the Octagon in a while! In the opening round Eye caught Smith in the ear with a right hook and it immediately sent a spurt of blood shooting up in the air. Not only that, but the top half of Smith’s ear now appeared to have come loose and was wobbling around as she was being hit! To her credit Smith was fighting on regardless despite the left side of her face being soaked in blood. In-between rounds the doctor took a very close look at Smith’s ear, but eventually deemed her fit to continue. However, Eye continued to target the injury with punches early in the second and the ref decided to call for another doctor’s stoppage at which stage it was decided Smith could not continue. Smith was actually protesting throughout this that the fight should continue, even shouting something to the crowd in Spanish (presumably, something along the lines of “Tis but a flesh wound!), but thankfully common sense prevailed as there was a chance she was going to lose her ear entirely!

Benitez was the better striker on the night, utilizing knee strikes well, but he most threatened Brown with guillotine choke attempts throughout this encounter. It finally paid off for him early in the third round as his exhausted opponent dropped to the floor unconscious courtesy from a standing guillotine.

Ross launched MMA Insight (previously FightOfTheNight.com) in 2009 as a way to channel his passion for the sport of mixed martial arts. He's since penned countless news stories and live fight reports along with dozens of feature articles as the lead writer for the site, reaching millions of fans in the process.

POPULAR CATEGORY

MMA Insight is dedicated to bringing you the best in Mixed Martial Arts coverage with a particular focus on the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Along with covering the latest news stories and event results from the world of MMA on a daily basis, the main focus of the site is to provide quality, in-depth articles, insight and opinion on the major talking points in this ever evolving sport.